Charles Foschini, Senior Managing Director, Berkadia

Invest: spoke with Charles Foschini, senior managing director at Berkadia, about how capital strategies are evolving across Florida’s real estate markets, the factors shaping deal activity, and why the state continues to outperform many regions nationwide. “Overall, Florida’s breadth of demand across asset classes makes it a durable market for capital deployment,” said Foschini. “As the largest privately held commercial real estate servicer in the country, Berkadia’s scale provides stability, continuity and institutional depth — positioning us to grow alongside our clients and remain at the forefront of Florida real estate finance.”

How would you characterize Berkadia’s Florida origination strategy, and how has it evolved to meet shifting market conditions?

Our strategy has always been straightforward: serve our clients well. If you do that consistently, it builds a reputation that attracts new clients and new opportunities. In Florida, and particularly in Miami, we’ve seen a significant migration of developers from markets like New York, which has created new demand across asset classes.

More recently, Berkadia saw that condominiums were becoming an important financing opportunity. While we’re best known for multifamily finance through our strong partnerships with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, we’ve also been involved in several significant land financings and condominium construction deals. That diversification has allowed us to remain active and relevant even as market conditions shift, and allows us to deliver solutions for the residential sector when other segments of the property market slow down.

What makes the Florida market distinctive compared to other regions, and how does that shape the capital solutions you bring to clients?

South Florida continues to outperform many other parts of the country. Office properties here have generally held up better than in other markets and continue to trade and attract financing. There’s plenty of capital available for assets that lenders can get comfortable with.

Tourism and population growth have been tremendous drivers for retail performance. Retail continues to evolve to serve a more discerning clientele, while neighborhood centers that serve everyday needs remain resilient. Industrial is another standout sector. We’re a supply-constrained market in terms of land, so to have well-located industrial space for storage and distribution is important.

Multifamily remains a major component of the market. We’ve had a lot of new supply delivered in the past two years, both rental and condos, but absorption has kept pace, producing steady leasing velocity and strong sales points. Overall, Florida’s breadth of demand across asset classes makes it a durable market for capital deployment.

How are Florida’s growth patterns influencing the types of assets and financing structures you’re seeing most frequently today?

Florida’s sustained population and job growth are directly influencing financing structures on multifamily assets. Lenders are looking at income on assets, and in many cases, existing in-place rents remain below current market levels. As leases roll over or expire, and rents reset to market, net operating income improves — which strengthens the asset’s underwriting profile.
For to-be-built products, whether a condominium or a rental development, lenders are closely tracking rent growth and absorption trends. When market data shows sustained demand and rising rents, it reduces perceived risk and makes construction financing more attainable. Debt providers gain confidence, terms improve, and once construction financing is secured, equity typically follows. Strong fundamentals create momentum — and momentum attracts capital.

Berkadia works with a wide range of capital sources. How do you balance those relationships to deliver the best outcomes for clients?

That’s easy. We put the client first. We do what’s best for our clients, and our lending relationships are the tools we use depending on the deal and the client’s objectives.

Sometimes the best lender is Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae for multifamily, but it could be a life company, a debt fund, a CMBS lender, or a bank. Our strength is knowing the market and knowing the capital sources, not only the lenders that are correspondent with Berkadia or our own funds, but also those outside of our platform that are best suited for a particular need. The goal is always to match the right capital to the right asset and the right borrower.

How are climate risk, resiliency standards, and regulatory factors affecting underwriting and deal structuring in Florida?

On a day-to-day basis, insurers are more focused on resiliency and climate risk than most lenders and buyer/sellers. City leadership is also focused on it because they want higher-caliber buildings that are less expensive to service over time. Through zoning and through insurance, any new building is going to be built above the floodplain, built to hurricane code, and built for flood resiliency. That translates into additional cost, and that sometimes makes financing more challenging than in other markets. But if you can prove a higher rent or a higher sales price, then that extra cost is justified and gets absorbed into the analysis.

Despite market volatility, Berkadia has remained active in Florida. What has driven that success, and how have expectations changed?

Tenacity. In periods of volatility, it’s important to stay engaged with all parties, continually educate both borrowers and lenders, and clearly articulate why a property deserves the kind of loan you’re seeking, and that takes consistent effort. Whether it’s construction, bridge, or permanent financing, that education process takes talent, knowledge, and resources.

Looking ahead, what innovations or strategies will help Berkadia stay at the forefront of Florida real estate finance?

As a privately held firm, we have the flexibility to evolve quickly and stay ahead of the curve. 

We’ve made significant commitments to technology, and the integration of AI and advanced data tools will only accelerate, enhancing our underwriting precision, market intelligence, and speed of execution. Equally important is the strength of our servicing platform. Our relationship with clients doesn’t end at closing – we remain engaged throughout the life of the loan, supporting both borrowers and lenders with ongoing asset management and servicing expertise. 

As the largest privately held commercial real estate servicer in the country, Berkadia’s scale provides stability, continuity and institutional depth — positioning us to grow alongside our clients and remain at the forefront of Florida real estate finance.

How does Berkadia’s approach adapt across Florida’s different submarkets beyond South Florida?

Berkadia has offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, and we provide the same quality of service and the same quality of experience that we do here in South Florida. Around the state, there are different dynamics that create different opportunities.

Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are land-constrained and expensive, but they provide a high quality of life and global connectivity, including major airports, cargo and shipping ports, and cruise infrastructure. Orlando has a large international airport and, in addition to tourism, has other sources of economic growth that will continue. Tampa, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg have major airports as well, are attractive to employers, and offer more land at a lower cost than South Florida. 

Florida has been uniformly pro-growth and pro-employment, and we’ve been a beneficiary of that. Live Local, a tax abatement that can benefit developers if they provide affordable and workforce housing in their communities, has also helped provide much-needed housing for the workforce. I think that will continue to allow Florida to grow and remain an opportune place for lenders to support borrowers across a range of projects.